Top 12 Largest Animals on Earth

The Saltwater Crocodile is one of the largest reptiles on Earth, known for its exceptional swimming ability. As a carnivore, it possesses powerful jaws and teeth to hunt its prey. Adult males can reach lengths of 6 to 7 meters and weigh between 1 to 1.2 tons, while females are smaller, measuring around 3 meters.

Saltwater crocodiles are mostly found in Asia, although they prefer to lay their eggs in freshwater areas. Each clutch contains about 40 to 60 eggs, which hatch in approximately 90 days. Interestingly, the sex of the hatchlings is determined by the temperature of their environment.

The Anaconda is considered a monster of the Amazon swamps. There are four types of Anacondas: green, yellow, black-and-white spotted, and the giant Bolivia Anaconda. The largest of these, the green Anaconda, can reach up to 9 meters in length and weigh 250 kg. Most of their time is spent in the swamps hunting for food. Anacondas use their flexible bodies to coil around and suffocate their prey.

The Anaconda is a live-bearing reptile, giving birth to 15 to 40 offspring at a time. They choose whether to give birth on land or in the water depending on the conditions. Anacondas are shy and excellent at camouflage, making them difficult to spot. Their primary predator in the swamp is the black caiman.

Polar Bears are massive animals that inhabit some of the coldest regions on Earth. They possess a thick layer of fat to sustain them during hibernation without needing to eat. Their outer fur is dense and white, perfectly adapted to the freezing climate. An adult male polar bear can weigh between 400 and 600 kg, and occasionally more than 800 kg, standing between 2.4 and 2.6 meters tall. Females are smaller, weighing between 200 and 300 kg and standing at 1.9 to 2.1 meters tall.

Polar bears are large mammals and carnivores, primarily feeding on seals. They typically reach reproductive age at 4 to 5 years old, with a gestation period ranging from 195 to 265 days. Female polar bears usually give birth to twins, though triplets are rare. Newborn polar bear cubs weigh between 600 and 700 grams, relying on their mother's milk to grow.

Walruses are considered the largest carnivorous animals alive today. They are semi-aquatic creatures, with flippered limbs, capable of living both on land and in water. They live in large herds and often migrate in search of food. Walruses spend considerable time underwater, sometimes for days or months, hunting for food. Additionally, a male walrus may have a 'harem' of 40 to 50 females during the mating season.

Female walruses have a gestation period ranging from 60 to 65 weeks, which means their pregnancy lasts approximately 456 days. After giving birth, the mother nurses her calf for a month, during which the calf can gain up to 100 kg. Walruses feed mainly on fish, squid, and shrimp. An adult walrus can weigh up to 4 tons and measure about 5.8 meters in length.

Lion's Mane Jellyfish is the largest species in the jellyfish family. Its body diameter can reach up to 2 meters, with tentacles extending as long as 15 meters. The largest specimen recorded was found drifting ashore in Massachusetts Bay in 1870, with a body diameter of 2.29 meters and tentacles measuring 37 meters.

These jellyfish thrive in the harshest weather conditions, even surviving under frozen surfaces in cold winter months. They are found exclusively in the Northern Hemisphere. The color of the Lion's Mane Jellyfish varies depending on its size: the largest individuals are dark red, while smaller ones have a brighter hue.

Like most jellyfish, the Lion's Mane Jellyfish is carnivorous. It typically feeds on plankton, small fish, and comb jellies. This species gained significant attention after its mass invasion caused the closure of the Torness Nuclear Power Plant in Scotland.

Fin Whale (also known as the gray whale) is the second-largest animal on Earth. Their length can reach up to 25 meters for males and 27 meters for females, with a maximum recorded weight of 73 tons, although some estimates suggest they can weigh up to 120 tons. Fin Whales are baleen whales, and they feed by taking in large amounts of seawater into their mouths, using the baleen plates, resembling combs, to filter out krill and tiny fish, while seawater flows back out.

From birth, a Fin Whale is already about 7.6 meters long and weighs around 3 tons. Upon reaching maturity, most can grow as long as a bus and weigh up to 200 tons.

Manta Ray, scientifically known as Manta birostris, is a species of ray from the Mobulidae family. There are two species within the Manta genus. They are the largest rays in the Mobulidae family and the largest rays in the world. Manta rays are commonly found in tropical and subtropical waters, but can also be found in temperate seas.

Manta Rays are large, flattened creatures that can grow up to 9 meters (30 ft) in width, resembling a giant disc. They feed on plankton, which they filter using their wide mouths. Their reproductive habits are not well understood, but they typically give birth to one (sometimes two) offspring after a gestation period of about one year.

Known as the sea monster, the Oceanic Oarfish (Regalecus glesne) is a rare deep-sea species typically found at depths ranging from 200 to 1,000 meters.

Last year, a fisherman from Da Nang reported catching a massive 4.2-meter long Oarfish weighing 29.6 kg in the waters of the Chan May Bay, Thua Thien Hue Province. Initially identified as Regalecus glesne, this species is one of the longest bony fish species in the world and is commonly referred to as the Oceanic Oarfish.

The giant Oarfish is the oldest known species of bony fish, reaching lengths of up to 17 meters and weights of up to 270 kg. With its ribbon-like body, narrow midsection, and dorsal fin running the full length of its body, the Oarfish has earned the nickname 'giant sea serpent' or 'sea dragon' due to its remarkable length and distinctive red dorsal fin.

The Giant Pacific Octopus is a large octopus species found along the northern Pacific coasts, from California to Alaska, and also in Russia, northern Japan, and South Korea. It inhabits temperate waters across the Pacific, including the Aleutian Islands and Japan.

This species grows larger and lives longer than most other octopuses. The largest recorded specimen measured 9.1 meters long and weighed 272 kg. Typically, they grow to about 5 meters and weigh around 50 kg. Their lifespan is approximately four years, and both males and females die after reproducing. Females live long enough to protect their eggs but do not eat during the brooding period, which lasts several months, and usually die shortly after. These octopuses can change their shape to blend in with their environment, resembling chameleons that mimic rocks and intricate coral formations.

The blue whale holds the title of the largest living creature on Earth today. Although it's called a whale, it is actually a mammal, giving birth and nursing its young, unlike other sea creatures that lay eggs. The blue whale's streamlined body is bluish-gray, with a lighter underside. Its primary diet consists of mollusks and some smaller fish.

Given the immense size of the blue whale, its body parts are equally massive. Its tongue alone weighs about 3 tons, heavier than an average elephant, which weighs around 2.7 tons. Due to its colossal size, the daily food intake of a blue whale can reach up to 3.6 tons. An adult blue whale typically measures between 25 to 30 meters in length and weighs over 130 tons. With such a formidable size, the blue whale has very few natural predators.

Alongside the blue whale, the African savanna elephant is also considered the largest land animal on the planet. Their primary food source is grass. These elephants live in herds within the savannas. Adult African savanna elephants can grow between 6 to 7.5 meters in length, stand about 3.3 meters tall, and weigh up to 6 tons. Female elephants are slightly smaller.

Their average lifespan is between 50 to 70 years. While only male Asian elephants have tusks, all African savanna elephants, both males and females, possess tusks. A female elephant’s pregnancy lasts about 22 months. Newborn elephants weigh 100 kg and stand about 1 meter tall. For the first five years of their life, they feed solely on their mother’s milk. However, African savanna elephants are now at risk of extinction due to rampant poaching. Recent statistics show that only around 465,000 African savanna elephants remain in the wild across Africa and Asia.

The giraffe is a large mammal belonging to the even-toed ungulates group, and is renowned for being one of the tallest land animals on the planet. Giraffes are native to the savannas, grasslands, and open woodlands of Africa. Their primary food source is the acacia tree, and their coats are characterized by a unique pattern of yellow and white fur. Giraffes have a long gestation period of about 15 months and typically give birth to one calf at a time. Males can grow between 4.8 to 5.5 meters tall and weigh around 1.3 tons, while females are generally shorter and lighter in comparison.

Like other herbivores, giraffes often live in herds. When faced with adverse weather or environmental changes, they migrate to more suitable regions. Due to their exceptionally long necks, giraffes face difficulty bending down to drink water, so they often go several days between drinking. Their long necks also serve as a powerful weapon for males during the breeding season, where they engage in necking battles to establish dominance.